Why True Detective Season 3 May Not Be Happening

True Detective Season 1 was one of the most acclaimed TV programs to hit the airwaves in the past decade. Its follow-up, however, was not so well thought of. Despite the fact that True Detective Season 2 was widely considered to be a disaster, HBO has said for a long time that Season 3 could happen so long as creator Nic Pizzolatto should want it. Now, it seems like the subscription cable network might be changing its tune, for a very good reason. Namely, HBO’s head guy Michael Lombardo has stepped down, leaving a new person to take over HBO’s programming slate.

Just a short time ago--on May 23 to be exact--Michael Lombardo was replaced as the head of programming over at HBO. Taking over for him is HBO’s former comedy head Casey Bloys, who has dabbled a bit more with dramas on the network in recent years. A new report over at THR indicates the fate of True Detective is now in Bloys’ hand.

Morever, the outlet isn’t simply saying that Bloys has a big decision to make. In fact, it looks as if a third season is probably not happening, at all. Instead, the subscription cable network seems to look as if it wants to start over and give Nic Pizzolatto an opportunity to make a second series for the network. This would make sense, as the show creator has an overall deal with HBO.

As recently as the fall, the chances for a third season of True Detective actually seemed pretty high. Michael Lombardo had said the network would take a third season should Pizzolatto want one, and the channel had also signed an overall deal to keep the showrunner with HBO through 2018.

Regardless, when a new person takes over a network, that individual usually wants to put his or her stamp on the channel. This often means clearing out old staples and shuffling aside programs that haven't been working as well. We saw the same thing happen over at ABC recently when the new head of the network opted to cancelCastle, Nashville and a slew of freshman programs that had been championed by the previous head of development. It's a tough world out there.

HBO has a slew of projects in the works, including the long-awaited but problematic drama Westworld. However, the network still hasn't found a drama slate that can compete with Game of Thrones. We'll let you know what changes as Bloys gets into the full swing of things over at HBO. In the meantime, don't be expecting much news on the True Detective front.

To see what has been cancelled and renewed, you can check out our network rundown.